Statement by Mr. MA Xinmin, Chinese Delegate, at the Sixth Committee of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly, on Item 108: Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism

2005/10/07

New York, 7 October 2005

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, please allow me, on behalf of the Chinese government, convey our condolence to the victims of the terrorist bombing in Bali Island of Indonesia last week, and also convey our sympathy to the family members of those victims. It has been proved once more by fact that international terrorism constitutes a serious threat against international peace and security, and the fight against terrorism is in the common interests of the international community. China has consistently opposed and condemned international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. China oppose the use of terrorist activities for political purpose and terrorist acts of violence committed by any state, organization, group or individual in violation of established rules of international law. Meanwhile, China has always maintained that the fight against terrorism must be conducted in compliance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and other established rules of international law. It must be conducted in such a way so as to avoid double standards and refrain from linking terrorism with any particular civilization, ethnic group or religion. It should also be stressed that both the manifestations and the causes of terrorism must be tackled at the same time.

We believe that the United Nations should play a leading and coordinating role in the fight against international terrorism. The primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security should find further expressions in the fight against terrorism. We support efforts made by the General Assembly and the Security Council within their respective mandates to strengthen the assistance that the UN system provides to member states in their fight against terrorism and to help developing countries enhance their capacity building for combating terrorism.

Mr. Chairman, the effective suppression of international terrorism requires the comprehensive cooperation among all nations. International legislation for the purpose of preventing and suppressing international terrorism constitutes an important step in the international cooperation against terrorism. The Chinese government has always supported efforts to combat international terrorism through formulating international conventions and has taken an active part in the work of the 6th Committee in formulating such international conventions. Of the 13 existing international conventions against terrorism, China has been state party to ten and signatory to two. As signatory to the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, China initiated the domestic legal procedure for ratification. During the High-level Plenary Meeting of the current session of the General Assembly, Chinese foreign minister, Mr. Li Zhaoxing, just signed the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism on behalf of the Chinese government. Hereby, the Chinese delegation would particularly make mention of the Russian Federation for its important contribution to the formulating of this Convention as the proposing state.

On regional and bilateral levels, China has, in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, ratified the Shanghai Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism and entered into bilateral agreements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to combat terrorism. Furthermore, China is also engaged in international cooperation with countries concerned to combat terrorism on the basis of treaties on judicial assistance in criminal matters and treaties on extradition.

In the field of domestic legislation, China has amended its criminal code to add particular provisions on the suppression of financing for terrorism. It has also expanded the provision on money laundering so as to cover the crime of financing for terrorism. These just improved the legal basis for the prevention, suppression and penalization of terrorism. The Chinese government is ready to join the rest of the international community in a continued effort to further improve the international legal framework for combating terrorism.

Mr. Chairman, the Chinese delegation has taken an active part in the formulation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and supports efforts to finalize the draft convention at an early date. China hopes that all parties will work for an early solution of the pending issues in the draft convention. Moreover, the Chinese delegation also supports the initiative to convene a high level conference on the fight against terrorism under the auspices of the United Nations when conditions are right.